Feed Zone Table

Biju Thomas and Allen Lim's previous two books – Feed Zone Cookbook and Feed Zone Portables – have been mainly focused on healthy eating for athletic performance. This one has a bit of a wider remit. "Science shows it's not just what we eat that matters; eating together matters, too," say the authors. "Feed Zone Table will inspire your family-style dinners with a delicious line up of drinks, starters, main courses, side dishes, fresh sauces, and desserts. Biju rolls out easy techniques for making flavorful food that's fun to prepare and share."

As such it's more of a family cookbook, but still aimed at healthy and simple recipes. At the front there's a series of essays touching on both the physical benefits of healthy eating and the psychological benefits of eating together.

The book is smartly and simply laid out, with recipes for drinks, starters and sides followed by five different meat sections, then non-meat dishes and desserts. It's fair to say that the book is pretty meat-focused, with the bones (sorry) of the book dedicated to meat main courses. If you're vegetarian, or vegan, this probably isn't the cookbook for you, even though there are some really nice vegetarian recipes in there.

The food spans across a wide range of styles, but they're generally pretty simple to prepare. You'll have to do the standard US-to-UK cups conversion maths, and on occasion you'll find an ingredient that's not familiar on these shores, but generally speaking there's nothing in this book that you're going to struggle with that much.

Whether you'll actually be able to use this as a family cookbook will depend on your family. If your kids are open to trying new stuff then it's a good jumping-off point for opening up their tastes a bit, and all the recipes are pretty healthy and well balanced. If you have pickier young eaters it'll cut down the range of recipes that are going to be any use for family dinners, but they're still useful for eating alone or with friends.

Overall, it's a decent addition to the shelf that's not too heavily focused on eating for sport but will still offer up well-balanced recipes that are wide-ranging and interesting.

Verdict

Good range of interesting recipes for healthy eating as a family

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Feed Zone Table

Size tested: Hardback

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

From the publisher:

Science shows it's not just what we eat that matters; eating together matters, too.

Chef Biju Thomas and Dr. Allen Lim have returned to the kitchen to champion dinner, the most social meal of the day. In their third cookbook, Feed Zone Table, Biju and Allen offer over 100 all-new recipes to bring friends and family to the table in a way that nourishes life and sport.

Feed Zone Table will inspire your family-style dinners with a delicious line up of drinks, starters, main courses, side dishes, fresh sauces, and desserts. Biju rolls out easy techniques for making flavorful food that's fun to prepare and share.

Enjoying dinnertime and eating well will nourish you, your family and friends–and your sports performance. Dr. Lim saw these benefits first-hand while working with professional athletes and shares new research on how social meals benefit everyone. Lim reveals why it matters–what science has to say about food, camaraderie, performance, and the pivotal role that the dinner table can play in an athlete's preparation.

Sports are often an escape from life, but Feed Zone Table is a warm invitation back to the table. We perform best when we nourish our bodies and feed our souls. Bring great food and people together with Feed Zone Table and you'll feel the difference.

Feed Zone Table brings over 100 all-new recipes to the popular Feed Zone series which includes The Feed Zone Cookbook and Feed Zone Portables.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

The Science Behind Social Meals

30+ Drinks, Starters, Sides, Salads, and Soups

35+ Poultry, Seafood, Pork, Beef, Lamb, and Bison Dishes

6 Meatless Dishes

40+ Sweets, Oils & Dressings, Sauces & Spices

15+ New Cooking Techniques

Quick & Recipes, Nutrition Facts, Index

Rate the product for quality of construction:

9/10

Rate the product for performance:

7/10

Rate the product for value:

7/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Very well, lots of interesting recipes.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Good variety, plenty of great photography.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Not much veggie/vegan stuff, American ingredients/measures.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes, so long as their kids are happy to try different stuff.

Use this box to explain your score

Good range or recipes, healthy and interesting food, nice photography.

Dave is a founding father of road.cc and responsible for kicking the server when it breaks. In a previous life he was a graphic designer but he's also a three-time Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling world champion, and remains unbeaten through the bog. Dave rides all sorts of bikes but tends to prefer metal ones. He's getting old is why.

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